Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction; example: SIG 1911.

When introduced several years ago, I thought someone had spiked my brownies. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A SIG 1911? A SIG SAUER 1911? I wasn’t quite sure what to think.

While I still don’t think of SIG first when talking about 1911 pistols, I can say the company makes some fine examples of John Moses Browning’s iconic pistol. One such quality example is the SIG SAUER 1911 Carry Nitron that I had the pleasure of testing.

The 1911 Carry is a Commander-sized pistol chambered in the ubiquitous .45 ACP. It has a 4.2” barrel and an overall length of 7.7” While not a pocket gun, it is relatively easy to conceal in an IWB or belt slide holster.

The 1911 Carry has a stainless steel frame and slide which takes the gun, unloaded, to 38.8 ounces. While substantially heavier than your typical polymer gun, it hides away easily due to the flat nature of the 1911 handguns. Besides, what’s the old saying about a gun is supposed to be comforting, not comfortable? The heft of this pistol is comforting.

It ships with a couple of 8-round magazines, which extend slightly below the mag well. Having nine rounds of 230 grain JHP on tap is definitely worth a little extra weight.

The Nitron finish on the gun was unblemished and looked very good. I was particularly fond of the rosewood grips that were emblazoned with the SIG SAUER name. The front strap and flat mainspring housing were both finely checkered.

Sights on the 1911 Carry are a three-dot style with tritium inserts. The tritium allows for use in low and no light conditions. The sights are dovetailed into the slide, which means they are drift adjustable and replaceable should you desire something more custom.

This pistol has a standard, not full-length, guide rod. I know some people are really worked up about the alleged benefits and/or heresy of a full length guide rod. I have no horse in that race, but I figured I would mention it in case rod length was an issue for you.

Like any nice 1911, the trigger on this pistol is light and crisp. It measured a touch under five pounds on my Lyman scale and was very consistent shot to shot.

Like most things, you get what you pay for. The quality of this pistol comes at a price, though at a lower price than some of the competitors offering the same level of quality. MSRP is $1,128, and I have seen street prices at about $100 less. It definitely costs more than a budget 1911, but is competitive with similar quality pistols from other manufacturers.

Out on the range, I found the SIG 1911 Carry shot as beautifully as it looked. I found the gun to be very accurate and pretty darn reliable. Felt recoil was very light, in part due to the heft of the gun. The checkering on the pistol allowed me to hold a good grip throughout my time on the range.

Ball ammo ran 100 percent in this pistol and of five different hollowpoint rounds, only one gave any hint of problems. A Fiocchi load using a Hornady XTP bullet refused to run, causing all manner of problems. With nearly a 50 percent problem rate, I put the ammo to the side and continued shooting the other cartridges.

I should note that a Hornady Custom load using the same 200 grain JHP bullet ran perfectly fine in this gun. I can only guess that there was some type of incompatibility with the Fiocchi loadings that had nothing to do with the bullet design.

The most accurate load was the 230 grain Remington Golden Saber cartridge. This round measured just under 1.5” at 25 yards from a rest. The other loads all ran in the 2-3” realm. Those groups could have likely been tightened up with another, better shooter.

The sights were perfectly adequate for the range, and most people would be satisfied with them for more dangerous activities. I prefer something big and bright at the end of the slide, like a fiber optic, which would be easy to install on this handgun.

I don’t know if I will ever have SIG SAUER spring to mind when I think about the 1911. But I can say that the 1911 Carry is a mighty fine gun. If you are looking for a great carry gun around the $1000 price point, definitely consider the SIG 1911’s. The quality of these guns is top notch.